Tom Kim [main picture] has control of the Asian Games after taking the third-round lead today on the East Course at Kasugai Country Club, Nagoya, Japan.

The former Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, who now plies his trade on the PGA TOUR, fired a five-under-par 65 to lead on 12-under.

Japan’s Kazuki Higa, last year’s Merit list winner, and Wang Wei-hsuan from Chinese-Taipei are in second pace, one shot back. Higa returned a 67 and Wang a 68, in what is the 20^th staging of the quadrennial event.

China’s Ding Wenyi is in sole possession of fourth following a 70, while Sadom Kaewkanjana (63) from Thailand, Korean Mun Doyeob (69), and Japan’s Keita Nakajima (70), and are equal fifth. Nakajima won the individual and team gold in 2018 in Indonesia when he was an amateur.

Korea’s Kim made up ground over the closing holes with an eagle on the par- five 13^th and a birdie on hole 16.

His and Mun’s rounds saw Korea, who also have Kim Seonghyeon in their side, move to the top of the team standings, ahead of Japan with China presently in the bronze medal position. Korea are the defending champions in the team competition, although they have a completely different team this year. The two best scores from each team count.

Kim, the 2022 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, also has one eye on trying to win a gold medal so that he will be excused from his mandatory military service. All able-bodied males in Korea are obligated to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military once they turn 19. They can postpone the date of their service, but without a significant cultural justification, like an Olympic medal, service is mandatory. A gold medal in the men’s or team competitions will be sufficient.

Taichi Kho returned a 69 to finish on two-under meaning the Hong Kong number one has too much to do tomorrow to successfully defend his individual title that he won at the 2022 Asian Games, in China.

A total of 20 Asian Tour members are competing out of a starting field of 66 players.

The Games, officially known as Aichi-Nagoya 2026, are being held mainly in Aichi Prefecture and its capital city, Nagoya.

It is the third time Japan has hosted the multi-sport event, following Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.

Approximately 11,000 athletes are competing in over 43 sports featuring 469 medal events.